Plot:
A young governess falls in love with her brooding and complex master. However, his dark past may destroy their relationship forever.
My Thoughts:
I liked this novel the most out of all the other Bronte novels I have read, mainly for the back story of Mr. Rochester - and the mystery of Bertha - his mad wife, locked away in the North Tower. However, this story is only a minor plot line in comparison to the apparent 'epic' love story between Jane Eyre and Mr. Edward Rochester. In all honesty, Jane annoyed me; she has little depth, she never stands up for herself, she willingly allows herself to fall for a man who is rude, conceited and vain, who plays with her feelings when he pretends to be engaged to Blanche Ingram; a wealthy, accomplished and beautiful lady of the county. She barely ever speaks and if she does it is in answer to direct questions. It is, to me at least, a story of little substance and action for most of the plot - the only action to be seen is the mysterious goings on of Bertha, setting fires at night and then Jane's exile to the Moors where she lays down to die after Rochester's betrayal. Possibly my favorite part of the novel is Jane's stay with the Rivers family, which is where, for the first time in her life, she is surrounded by truly happy people, who accept her as true family. She however, turns down an offer for marriage from Rev. Rivers (a perfectly lovely man I might add) to run back to Rochester who feels betrayed after her leaving.
All in all, Jane seems to do a lot of apologizing in this novel, despite the fact that she never actually does anything wrong, which is why I didn't really enjoy it.
Adaptation:
I ended up not watching the adaptation I said I would (the 2011 version with Michael Fassbender) but the 2006 version with Ruth Wilson as Jane and Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester.
I really liked this adaptation, Wilson played her part well and put a face to "those eyes" so continually described by Rochester. Her face conveyed Jane's constant tumultuous thoughts, and her and Stephens had electrifying chemistry especially in their witty dialogue - perfectly displaying the undercurrents of emotion of their relationship, and the romantic subtext between the words.
The cinematography was also just what you expect of a Bronte adaptation - dark, grey, bleak and cold - however there was a surprising amount of vivid colour, especially in the outdoor scenes in the spring time - conveying the 'blossoming' of their romance - I thought these scenes were nice, however frivolous and continually linked with flashbacks to Rochester's dark past, making the vivacity of the scene sometimes to juxtaposed.
However, I was hoping to have some more introspective moments from Jane - perhaps the thoughts we so easily see from the novel depicted in such ways as a diary entry (such as in 'Persuasion' where the introspective Anne's thoughts are heard as she writes), for those who have not read the book, Jane seems somewhat an enigma - when really she is the only honest character in the story.
Conclusion:
I give the novel a 5/10 and the adaptation a 6/10.
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